What is a PPI (Potentially Prejudicial Information) letter?

While processing your visa application, Immigration New Zealand may send you a PPI letter asking you to provide additional information or evidence for various reasons, including:

  • Proof of your employment, including the ability of your employer to support the terms laid down by the offer and the visa.
  • Verify the legitimacy of the documents filed along with the visa application
  • Doubts related to your health condition
  • Concerns about your character

This is not the complete list. The officer adjudicating your visa application may issue a PPI letter to identify all sorts of information that may impact your visa application outcome negatively.

What if Immigration New Zealand sent you a PPI letter?

Well, if you have received a PPI letter from Immigration New Zealand, it means that the immigration officer looking into your visa application needs additional information. You must pay close attention to the details being sought as this may point to some trouble areas related to your New Zealand temporary or resident visa application.

Be patient – as this does not mean that your visa application has been rejected. However, the outcome of your visa application is now largely dependent on how you respond to Immigration New Zealand's PPI letter.

Not responding correctly to the PPI letter will most likely lead to rejection of your visa application. You must seek the help of a qualified immigration adviser to ensure your response to the PPI letter is drafted in the most compelling manner.

Book a 100% free consultation with our Auckland based licensed immigration advisers to discuss your case.

Why have you received a PPI letter?

You have received a PPI letter because the immigration officer working on your case has some concerns related to one or more parts of your visa application – this may include your employment arrangement, character issues, medical issues or questions related to legitimacy of your purpose to visit New Zealand, based on the visa you are seeking.

By issuing a PPI letter, Immigration New Zealand provides visa applicants with a chance to take care of potential problems and concerns that may affect their visa application negatively. The purpose of issuing PPI letters is to satisfy the requirement that the department does not outrightly deny visa applications when they find any "potentially prejudicial information" – they have to be "fair" in providing "natural justice", the basis for which is not always clear to visa applicants.

Onshore vs Offshore visa applications

It is important to note that there is a difference in how Immigration New Zealand uses your location (whether you are inside or out of New Zealand) to decide whether to issue you a PPI letter.

Onshore applications

When you are already in New Zealand, PPI is broadly understood to be material, information and data that may have a negative impact on your visa application.

Offshore applications

If you are outside the country, the definition of PPI adopted by Immigration New Zealand narrows by quite a bit. In the case of overseas applications, PPI means material, information and data which:

  • May negatively impact the outcome of your visa application, and
  • Is not available publicly, and
  • The applicant may have not yet had a chance to respond to, and
  • Was not submitted directly by the applicant or an authorized party.

This means that the immigration officer may decide NOT to send you a PPI letter unless the potentially prejudiced information they discover satisfies the narrow criteria stated above – your visa application may be rejected without you having a chance to take care of the problem.

Scary, right?

What should you do when you get a PPI letter?

Remember that you are getting a PPI letter because Immigration New Zealand has already identified some potential issues with your visa application. Unless, you reply to the PPI letter in a clear, complete and compelling way, your visa application is likely to be denied.

The response to the PPI letter must quote relevant New Zealand immigration law sections and provide ample proof to satisfy your immigration officer. Consequences of not responding to the PPI letter correctly in time go beyond visa rejection – in some cases, you may even be liable for deportation the moment your visa application is rejected.

The experienced team of immigration experts at Professional Visa Solutions has been helping its customers with the most complicated immigration problems at reasonable rates. Our typical fees for PPI letter responses is NZ$ 1,500 – 2,750 (plus applicable GST).

Book a 100% free consultation with our immigration experts to respond to your PPI letter in the most effective way.